An Official Publication of the
International Society of Nephrology
Spring/Summer
Issue • 2002
News from the Treasurer’s
Office
The Treasurer’s Office functions as the business headquarters of
the International Society of Nephrology. As a non-profit organization operating under the
tax laws of the United States, the ISN has to comply strictly with governmental standards
on all financial matters. The Society’s accounting records and practices are audited
or reviewed annually by Deloitte & Touche, an international accounting firm. Thus far
they have unearthed no significant problems with our practices or records. The
Treasurer’s office also processes membership renewals, new applications, and changes
in addresses of members and serves as the circulation office for Kidney International. The staff are constantly developing new ideas and processes to
improve the accuracy and efficiency of the membership process, but if you have
suggestions, let us know by sending your ideas either to me or to Ms. Rosemary McCier,
Office Manager of the ISN.
The ISN now has over 7,800 members
from 120 countries worldwide, and is committed to working with nephrologists in the
developing world. A joint membership program was inaugurated in 1997 that enables up to 10
nephrologists from eligible countries to join the Society for US $100. Joint members share
one copy of Kidney International, and in conjunction with our publisher, Blackwell
Science, Kidney International is mailed to 173 medical libraries in developing
nations. Regular membership dues, which include a free issue of Kidney International,
are US $150. A portion of the dues goes to Blackwell Science to pay for publishing Kidney
International and the remainder resources ISN educational programs. The Society also
receives a share of Kidney International’s profits from Blackwell Science.
This has permitted us to expand the Fellowship Program and commissions to address specific
topics.
The ISN has an annual operating budget
of approximately $2.1 million. The management of the Society by its officers is voluntary
(without compensation), permitting the majority of the budget to be spent on educational
activities with comparatively low administrative expenses. The ISN has built a reserve
fund of approximately $4.0 million (based on current market rates) from investments in
stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. The goal of developing a financial reserve is to maintain
our commitment to nephrology education if there is an economic downturn.
The Fellowship Program is currently
funding 22 fellows per year. There is also a two-year fellowship that is funded by the
Japanese Society of Nephrology and four two-year fellowships funded by the American
Society of Nephrology. Our total commitment for fellowships is $607,500 annually. In
addition, $22,500 comes from Kirin Brewery of Japan and $67,500 per year from the National
Kidney Research Fund of Great Britain.
A program which has made great
contributions to nephrology education is the Commission for the Global Advancement of
Nephrology (COMGAN). Through the capable chairmanship of Dr. John Dirks, and vice-chairs
Drs. Eberhard Ritz and William Courser, the ISN spends $250,000 yearly in areas of the
world such as Russia, Turkey, Cuba, Senegal, Iran, Nepal, India, Ecuador, United Arab
Emirates, Kuala Lumpur, Mexico and South Africa.
The ISN also funds active Commissions:
the Commission on Acute Renal Failure chaired by Dr. Norbert Lameire, the Informatics
Commission chaired by Dr. Kim Solez, and the History of Nephrology Commission chaired by
Dr. Leon Fine. These commissions direct the Society’s activities in a specific areas
that deserve special attention.
At the First World Congress in San
Francisco, California in the USA, the ISN spent $96,600 to fund travel scholarships and
registration fees for younger physicians and trainees to attend the First World Congress
of Nephrology in San Francisco and interact actively with the speakers and scientists.
The ISN supports two “Forefronts
in Nephrology” symposia in non-Congress years and one Forefront in years in which
there is a Congress. For each Forefront, the Society provides $50,000, and designates 40%
for travel scholarships for young physicians and scientists.
This brief summary highlights the
major activities of the Treasurer’s Office. The ISN is devoting substantial resources
to improve the knowledge and training of the next generation of nephrologists, and to
improve care of the patient with kidney disease. It is a great privilege to work with you
to achieve these goals and I hope you will contact me with ideas and suggestions for
improving our Society. isn
From the Editor
This is the start of the third year of ISN News, and I have to admit editing it has been a revelation. Until
then I had no idea of the range of ISN activities, and I continue to be amazed how
effectively it prosecutes them. All this takes money and in this issue the ISN Treasurer,
Bill Mitch, tells how everything is paid for and reveals how much work must be involved.
The First World Congress was an
enormous success despite being held in the immediate aftermath of September 11th. The
immediate past ISN president and congress chair Thomas Andreoli describes the event and
the particular poignancy of its timing.
The inaugural issue of ISN News
had a full report on the Fellowship program, and we regularly announce the names of
successful applicants. The ISN Fellows poster session was one of the highlights of the
World Congress and it’s a particular pleasure to hear about the experiences of two
prize winners from that session Dr. Fan Fan Hou from China and Dr. Sehsuvar Ert�rk from
Turkey. Their stories attest to the warmth with which they were welcomed and the value of
their experience. I hope they encourage more nephrologists to apply for the program.
So I hope you enjoy this issue of ISN
news. Write to us if you would like to suggest articles or particular topics that interest
you. isn
First World Congress
of Nephrology
The First World Congress of Nephrology was held at the Moscone Center
in San Francisco on October 13–17. The Congress was a joint effort between the
American Society of Nephrology and the International Society of Nephrology.
Some prefatory words to explain the
genesis of this World Congress of Nephrology may be appropriate. In 1993, the
then-President of the International Society of Nephrology, R. R. Robinson, recognized that
Nephrology meetings were proliferating at a rapid rate. He reasoned, appropriately, that
it would be sensible for the International Society of Nephrology to begin holding its
meetings in linkage with meetings of national or regional societies. Planning for this
First World Congress of Nephrology was initiated in 1993 by subcommittees of the ASN and
of the ISN. Direct organization of the 2001 WCN was a joint venture involving Robert J.
Alpern, President of the American Society of Nephrology; Qais Al-Awqati, Program Chair for
the American Society of Neph�rology; Steven C. Hebert, Program Chair for the
International Society of Nephrology; the joint ASN/ISN Program Committee; and myself.
Ordinarily, such meetings are academic
celebrations characterized by a spirit of festive collegiality coupled to high
scholarship. These feelings were obviously muted by the terrible tragedy of September 11,
which cast a bleak penumbra over the entire planet. The terrorist acts of September 11,
while directed primarily against the United States, assassinated people from more than 60
countries. As a consequence, they represented a direct affront to all nations of the
world. By themselves, the actions were an insult to justice and simple decency, two key
pillars of civilized societies. But it is a felicity for me to note that, despite the
tragic acts of September 11, the World Congress of Nephrology was a remarkable success.
Initially, approximately 11,000 people
had pre-registered. For understandable reasons, more than 3,000 people did not attend the
Congress. However, the Congress itself was still very well attended, with nearly 8,000
participants. And the spirit of the Congress was a balance between recognizing the sober
realities of what had occurred on September 11 with the inevitable sense of collegial
enthusiasm that accompanied old colleagues encountering one another and sharing brilliant
science.
The first International Congress of
Nephrology and the ISN were both outgrowths of the vision of Jean Hamburger, who founded
the Nephrology Unit at the Necker Hospital in Paris. Under Hamburger’s dazzling
leadership, the first International Congress of Nephrology was held in Evian-Les-Bains in
1960. When the ISN was formed, Hamburger’s concept was of an academically elite
organization whose cardinal purpose was to exchange scientific information. But it should
be recognized that Nephrology, at the time, was in its nascent stages.
By way of contrast, the program for
the 2001 World Congress of Nephrology provides eloquent testimony to the fact that, in the
past 40 years, nephrology has grown exponentially. The number of abstracts submitted, in
excess of 5,000, is nearly the sum of the total number of abstracts submitted to the 1999
ISN Congress in Buenos Aires and to the 2000 ASN meeting in Toronto. There were
representatives of more than 100 nations to the First World Congress of Nephrology, again
indicating that nephrology, largely through the activities of ISN, has become truly
global. The abstracts, presentations and plenary lectures also showed that we have become
global conceptually. There was something for everyone at the meeting. Molecular biology,
physiology, immunology and clinical nephrology were all represented strongly.
The recipients of the ISN Awards also
expressed the global nature of the meeting. The Jean Hamburger Award was given to Anita
Aperia, Professor of Pediatrics at the Karolinska Institute, and to R. R. (Ike) Robinson,
Vice-Chancellor Emeritus for Health Affairs at Vanderbilt University. One could
hardly imagine two more worthy recipients. The Alfred Newton Richards Award for excellence
in research was given to Floyd C. Rector, Director Emeritus of the Division of
Nephrology at the University of California, San Francisco, and to Eberhard Fr�mter,
Professor Emeritus at Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universit�t, Frankfurt. Both
contributed enormously during their careers to our understanding of renal tubular
physiology.
The entire Congress was, happily, a
remarkably pleasant activity, due in no small part to the cordiality of Bob Alpern and his
colleagues on the Council of the American Society of Nephrology, and to the extreme
diligence of Qais Al-Awqati, Steve Hebert and their colleagues on the Program Committee.
I will add a personal note.
Hamburger’s original view of the ISN as an elitist organization concerned with the
exchange of high science was appropriate for the time. But the ISN, like all
organizations, is a tapestry which has not been and—I hope—never will be
completed. There is ample evidence for academic and scientific elitism in the ISN, most
notably through the ISN Congresses, through Kidney International, and through the Forefronts
in Nephrology series. Forefronts, in particular, has brought to nephrology a
way of merging flanking intellectual disciplines such as molecular biology, genomics and
proteomics with clinical nephrology.
The ISN has also become egalitarian,
genuinely global in scope and prismatic in content. Most importantly, the ISN recognizes
clearly its’ responsibility for fostering education, clinical growth, and truly
global participation. As examples of these statements, there is the Committee for the
Global Advancement of Nephrology; the International Fellowship Program, which has now
provided training for nearly 300 fellows from 55 countries; and the Renal Sister Center
Program, which constitutes 146 Sister Centers involving 89 countries. Finally, to enhance
the global nature of ISN, the membership of the ISN voted to enlarge the Executive
Committee by three members, and the Council by two members. This will permit developing
nations a greater opportunity to serve in leadership roles in the Society.
On balance, the ISN is in fine
condition. I am certain that Bob Atkins and his colleagues will continue the upward
trajectory of the Society. I am also certain that the 2003 Berlin meeting, a joint venture
between the European Renal Association and the ISN, will be equally, if not more
successful, than the First World Congress of Nephrology in San Francisco.
It has been my privilege to have had
the opportunity to serve the ISN. My thanks in particular to my colleagues on the
Executive Committee for having made my term in office thoroughly pleasant. isn
Thomas E. Andreoli is the
Immediate Past-President of ISN.
From the
Secretary-General’s Office
There has been an enormous amount of activity in the Office since my
last report. This is always the case in Congress years since, besides the General
Assembly, both the Executive Committee and the Council meet twice and all committees and
subcommittees meet at least once. There are also changes in membership of the Council and
practically all the committees, and many of the issues are left until the new president
assumes office.
New
Constitution ratified. The amended constitution was
ratified by the General Assembly. This means that the Management Committee has been
abolished and the Executive Committee has been expanded by three, namely the Chair of
COMGAN and two appointed members from Council. Two additional Council seats have been
created to represent East Asia and South Asia respectively. Other amendments have been
made in the classes of membership and terms of officers. The complete new constitution can
be read at the ISN Website.
New
Executive. Dr. Thomas Andreoli completed his term as
President after 28 months of relentless effort. One of his many endeavors has been to
amend the Constitution. His hard work ensured the success of the World Congress of
Nephrology, particularly during the critical period following September 11, raising funds
from industry. Dr. Robert Atkins, the current President, came in full of enthusiasm and
ambition. He already held his first Executive retreat in Toronto just a few weeks after
taking his office (see later). Dr. Jan Weening’s ascent to become President-elect was
ratified by Council, and Dr. William Couser (Seattle) was elected Vice-president. Dr. John
Dirks, COMGAN chair, joined the Executive under the terms of the new Constitution,
together with Dr. Heini Murer (Z�rich) and Dr. Jared Grantham (Kansas City), who were
appointed from Council. There were no changes in the posts of Secretary-General, Treasurer
(Dr. William Mitch) or the Editor (Dr. Saulo Klahr).
New
Councilors. Nine new Councilors were elected, six to
replace outgoing members from Australia (Dr. Michael Field), Europe (Dr. Heini Murer),
North America (Drs. Daniel Bichet, and Thomas Hostetter) and South America (Drs. Bernardo
Rodr�guez-Iturbe and Elvira Arrizurieta). The incoming Councilors from these regions are
respectively Drs. Carol Pollock, Bernard Rossier, Michel Bergeron, Ricardo Corr�a-Rotter,
Ezequiel Bellor�n-Font and Pablo Massari. Dr. Thomas Coffman was elected to replace Dr.
Jared Grantham who was appointed to the Executive. Two new Councilors, Drs. Shan Yan Lin
(PR China) and Jaffer Naqvi (Pakistan) were elected to represent East and South Asia
according to the new Constitution. The Council vacancy created by the election of Dr.
William Couser to the Vice-presidency was filled by the appointment of Dr. Amin Arnaout
for two years, until this seat is filled with next elections.
Executive
retreat in Toronto. The new Executive had a 3-day
meeting in Toronto in December. The agenda addressed practically every aspect of the
society, including fund-raising, membership benefits, evaluation of all programs, revision
of the management system, fund allocation and many others. The impact of decisions made
during this retreat will become obvious during the coming year.
Moldavian Society of
Nephrology. The General Assembly ratified the
affiliation of this Society to ISN. Details of the leadership of the new affiliate can be
viewed at the ISN website.
Carl
Gottschalk Archives. A new addition to the archives
is a collection of CVs of all past-presidents, honorary members, and recipients of the
Hamburger and Richard awards since the establishment of the Society. Photos and short CVs
are being gradually displayed in the Archives. It will not be too long before the ISN
Archives can be viewed at the ISN Website, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Kim Solez, Chair
of the informatics Commission.
Fellowship
Program. With the acceptance of 18 new applicants
(names and countries may be viewed at the Website), the total number of ISN fellows has
now exceeded 300. ISN keeps contact with all former fellows and will soon conduct a survey
of their impact after returning to their home countries. The excellent posters produced by
60 fellows were displayed in a special session in the World Congress of Nephrology which
was attended by a large number of senior members of the Society. A jury composed of Drs.
Robert Schrier, Stewart Cameron and Gavin Becker selected the best 4 posters as per the
following order: Drs. Fan Fan Hou (China), Sehsuvar Erturk (Turkey), Visith Thongboonkerd
(currently in USA) and Duk-Hee Kang (Korea). The winners received certificates, medals and
checks kindly offered by Fresenius Health Care.
New
Fellowship Sponsor. The Sheffield Kidney Institute
of the UK has recently joined the ISN Fellowship program as a sponsor for a biennial grant
for training in clinical and bench nephrology for two years. Other non-ISN sponsors
include the American Society of Nephrology, The National Kidney Research Fund of Great
Britain, the Japanese Society of Nephrology, Fresenius Health Care and Kirin Brewery of
Japan. ERA/EDTA is providing a short-term scholarship based in Glasgow for African
nephrologists for those wanting training in establishing and running on Registries.
New
regulations for the Fellowship Program. One of the
outcomes of the recent Executive retreat is to restrict ISN privileges to its members.
Accordingly, fellowships shall be awarded only to nephrologists whose mentors are ISN
members, and training shall be permitted only with host mentors who are ISN members. The
same rules shall apply to the Senior Scholarship Program, whereby the visitors and hosts
must be ISN members. The new application form, effective as of January 1st, implements
these new regulations, and also have a section for providing the details of the training
program which will be taken into consideration by the reviewers while scoring
applications. isn
A Voyage from China
My interest in medicine was aroused during childhood, as my mother
took me along to her laboratory. From an early age, I had a real enthusiasm for exploring
things I didn’t understand. For my 12th birthday, my mother gave me a surprising
gift—she took me to a large library. The library opened my eyes to a new world. I
spent the whole day in that magic hall and almost forgot to return home.
I devoted myself to the study of
medicine at the age of 19. I received my medical degree in the First Medical University in
Guangzhou and my PhD at the Sun-Yat Sen University of Medical Sciences. My doctoral
thesis, which described the pathogenesis of malnutrition in chronic renal failure, was
given top marks. However, I was not content, since there were many topics in nephrology to
which I had never been exposed.
The International Society of
Nephrology (ISN) provided a wonderful opportunity for me to expand my professional
career. I was awarded an ISN Fellowship in 1996 to train with Drs. William F. Owen and
Barry M. Brenner at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston,
Massachusetts, USA. The Brigham and Women’s is a major teaching hospital with an
active and rigorous scientific atmosphere. The two-year fellowship training was an
unforgettable experience and allowed me to become involved in research projects, teaching,
and various aspects of the clinical training program. By developing a near perfect
training program, Professor Brenner has attracted nephrologists from Europe, Australia,
Asia, and Latin America who are linked not only by science but also by a great spirit of
cooperation. I greatly enjoyed teaching and learning activities such as “Laboratory
Meeting” and “Clinical Pathological Conference” which provided opportunity
to share new information and exchange ideas. I also enjoyed the weekly lectures. They were
so stimulating and inspiring that I never missed a one. Professor Brenner and other
faculty members gave us a new perspective on nephrology as well as a broader scientific
interest. Every discussion was thought provoking and illuminating, and I can’t
express how much I enjoyed being with this great team. During the 2 years, I learned a
great deal about nephrology but even more important I learned how to get this knowledge
for myself.
Most of my time as a research fellow
was spent in Dr. Owen’s laboratory. Dr. Owen is a rigorous investigator who demands
the inquiry to be “microscopic in intensity and panoramic in scope”. He is also
a great instructor. He helped me to develop my research projects and taught me how to test
my hypotheses through well-designed experiments. He also taught me how to process,
analyze, display, and report my findings. With his unstinted help and unreserved guidance,
I came out of my novitiate equipped to pursue independent lines of inquiry. My current
research is focused on the pathogenesis of dialysis-related amyloidosis and made more and
more progress. I have presented my findings at major international scientific meetings and
published seven papers in leading journals, including Kidney International and the Journal
of the American Society of Nephrology. In 1996, I was awarded a Blue Ribbon for
Excellence at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Nephrology in New
Orleans.
I returned to China at the end of
1998. Now, I am based at the Nanfang Hospital as the Chief of Renal Division and a
Professor of Medicine at the First Medical University of Guangzhou. The collaborations
that developed during my training have continued, and I still work with nephrologists and
scientists in the United States, Japan and Belgium. These collaborations have greatly
facilitated the progress of our research, and we have recently published new data in Journal
of the American Society of Nephrology and other leading nephrology journals. In 2001,
my paper was awarded “The Best Fellow’s Poster (First Prize)” at ASN/ISN
World Congress of Nephrology in San Francisco. For me, “ISN Fellowship Program”
is like the magic library.
I am indebted to ISN for helping me to
contribute to the development of nephrology in my home country: it opened the door and
presented a new scientific world for me. My instructors were like the “reference
librarians” from my visits to the library as a child. They told me where and how I
could get the knowledge for my development in the medical profession. As I leave the
“library,” I am able to use the new knowledge to serve my patients and benefit
our society. isn
Fan Fan Hou is Chief of the Renal
Division at Nanfang Hospital
Top
10 Nephrology Web Sites
http://www.kidney.org
http://www.cybernephrology.org
http://www.hdcn.com
http://www.ikidney.com
http://www.nephron.com
http://www.asn-online.org
http://www.kidneydirections.com
https://www.isn-online.org
http://www.e-dialysis.org
http://www.kidneyatlas.org
Remembering Minneapolis
Iam a nephrologist in Ankara, Turkey and worked as an ISN fellow at
the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota, between June and December 1999. I would like to share my thoughts about my
training with my colleagues.
First of all, I appreciate the great
honor for me to be an ISN fellow. My primary aim, when I submitted my application for the
ISN Fellowship Training Award, was to find out exactly what I was not doing in my home
institution. I also wanted to learn what the nephrologists in the United States were doing
about nephrology. My time at the Renal Division, University of Minnesota, gave me the
chance to familiarize myself with a system which I would never have even imagined. My
mentor was Prof. Mark Rosenberg, Director of the Renal Fellowship Program, and Prof.
Thomas Hostetter, Director of the Division .
Throughout my training, I participated
in grand rounds and conferences at the Department of Medicine and the Renal Division, and
took part in the hospital renal consult and clinical transplant services. My knowledge of
nephrology expanded enormously through these clinical activities. I was also able to take
part in two research projects, which involved data collection as well as study design and
analysis. These studies were presented at the AST Meeting in May 2000 and the ASN Annual
Meeting in October 2000. I think that these activities expanded my skills as a clinical
researcher.
The science was not everything—it
was very exciting to live in a foreign country, and to experience living far away from
home in a country where everybody spoke an unfamiliar language. Fortunately, it’s
difficult to think of oneself as a foreigner, when living in the US resembles the United
Nations.
I felt myself eager to develop new
research projects when I returned home. During the past two years, I finished two studies and am now studying on several others.
In October 2001, I presented two abstracts at the World Congress of Nephrology in San
Francisco—one of which won the second prize in the ISN Fellows Posters
Session. After the Congress, I returned to Minneapolis to visit friends at the University.
I would view my training as extremely
productive. I am grateful to the ISN for selecting me
as one of the ISN Fellowship Training Awardees and helping me to achieve my aims related
to training at the University of Minnesota. I also would like to thank my host
mentor, Professor Rosenberg, and the other members of the Renal Division of the University
of Minnesota.
Professor Rosenberg is now the
Director of the Renal Division. He was a great mentor and an outstanding teacher and
treated me as one of his family. The experience of being an ISN Fellow taught me many
things, and one of the most important aspects of the experience was gaining new friends,
who I now miss so much. isn
Sehsuvar Ert�rk is Associate
Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology at Ankara University Medical School in
Ankara, Turkey.
ISN Fellows 2001–2002
|
Extensions |
||||
|
Name |
Home Country |
Host Country |
Sponsor |
|
|
AKH Ahmed |
Egypt |
UK |
NKRF |
|
|
J Carpio |
Chile |
USA |
ISN |
|
|
E Ok |
Turkey |
USA |
ISN |
|
|
C Chiurchiu |
Argentina |
Italy |
ISN |
|
|
H Fahmy |
Egypt |
UK |
SKI |
|
|
R Wen |
China |
Canada |
ISN |
|
|
Short-term |
||||
|
Name |
Home Country |
Host Country |
Sponsor |
|
|
HK Aggarwal |
India |
Canada |
ISN |
|
|
M Al-Rohani |
Yemen |
Egypt |
ISN |
|
|
S Prakash |
India |
USA |
ISN |
|
|
AB Izotova |
Russia |
USA |
ISN |
|
|
ER Semenova |
Russia |
Canada |
ISN |
|
|
VR Shumilkin |
Russia |
USA |
ISN |
|
|
AB El Essaway |
Egypt |
USA |
ISN |
|
|
AAG Hassan |
Egypt |
UK |
NKRF |
|
|
Standard |
||||
|
Name |
Home Country |
Host Country |
Sponsor |
|
|
JB Dittel |
Costa Rica |
Spain |
ISN |
|
|
T-C Fang |
Taiwan |
UK |
NKRF |
|
|
OM Hemett |
Mauritania |
Switzerland |
ISN |
|
|
IM Kolesnvk |
Ukraine |
Canada |
ISN |
|
|
MS Magam |
Yemen |
Egypt |
ISN |
|
|
MM Popovska |
Macedonia |
Germany |
ISN |
|
|
AO Timothy |
Nigeria |
USA |
ASN |
|
|
A Yildiz |
Turkey |
USA |
ASN |
|
From the Regions
The past two years have seen a number of significant developments
with respect to the activities of the European Renal Association—European Dialysis
and Transplant Association.
EDTA
Registry
For many years the EDTA Registry provided important information
regarding the demography of end stage renal failure management in Europe. For a number of
disparate reasons it became increasingly difficult to obtain accurate data satisfactory
for effective analyses. As a consequence the Council of ERA/EDTA was faced with the very
difficult decision of whether to continue with the Registry or abandon such an activity.
After considerable discussion and liaison with the Department of Informatics at the
Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam it was decided to revise the structure of the
Registry. A new revised Registry has therefore been established which obtains data from
national and other large renal Registries. Now some ten such Registries contribute data
and already important and meaningful analyses are being undertaken. A number of these were
presented at national and international meetings as well as being published in Nephrology
Dialysis Transplantation, the official journal of
ERA/EDTA. It is envisaged that in the next year a number of additional Registries will
have contributed to this venture and in addition the Amsterdam Office has been able to
provide useful information to countries and regions who wish to establish their own
effective Registry.
Best
Practice Guidelines
The Association has published European Best Practice Guidelines on
Anaemia Management and on Renal Transplantation.
Further guidelines are at an advanced stage of preparation and will be shortly published
relating to hemodialysis and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. The first two
guidelines have been well received and it is anticipated that the next two will be equally
successful. These guidelines have been prepared by a panel of experts and have involved
active participation from all the national societies in the geographical area served by
ERA/EDTA. Furthermore, these guidelines will be updated at regular intervals and have
already been translated into a number of different languages for ease of dissemination
throughout Europe and adjacent countries.
Postgraduate
Education
The ERA/EDTA continues to actively promote postgraduate education in
Eastern Europe under the direction of Professor E. Ritz and Professor A. Wiecek. A one
week graduation course was held in Prague and an epidemiology course in Gdansk. In
addition, in association with COMGAN, support has been provided to a number of national
meetings throughout Eastern Europe and beyond. The very active co-operation between ISN
and ERA/EDTA has enabled increased activity to be undertaken and has been greatly welcomed
wherever it has been possible to provide support.
Research
Foundaton
The ERA/EDTA has now established a Foundation for the support of
research, development, and postgraduate activities throughout Europe. A Scientific
Committee has been established, which will assess requests for grants and training
applications and subsequently make recommendations for funding. This is a new venture
which will take some time to become established, but it is a very positive step towards
ERA/EDTA being involved in scientific research and development throughout Europe. isn
AM Davison is President of the
ERA/EDTA.
Future Meetings
Meetings are listed, followed by dates, place, and contact
information.
SN CME –
Basic Science • August
2–3, 2002 • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia • Dr. Zaki
Morad • tel: 60 3 290 5404 fax: 603 293 8953 email: zmorad@hkl.gov.my
IXth Budapest
Nephrology School • August
29–September 3, 2002 • Budapest, Hungary • Dr.
Laszio Rosival • tel: 36 1
2100 100 fax: 36 1 2100 100 email: rosival@net.sote.hu
5th
International Congress on Mechanisms of Uremic Toxicity • September 13–16,
2002 • Wurzburg, Germany • Professor C. Wanner • fax: +49 9322013502 email: c.wanner@medizin.uni-wuerzberg.de website: http://www.uni-wuerzberg.de/nephrologie
19th
National Congress of Nephrology, Hypertension, Dialysis and Transplantation—Turkish
Society of Nephrology
• September 17–21, 2002 • Antalya, Turkey • Prof. Kamil
Serdenge�ti • email:
kserden@superonline.com website:
http://www.nefroloji.kongresi.org
China
Society of Nephrology • September
18-22, 2002 • Shanghai, China • Dr. Shanyan Lin • tel: 02162489999 fax: 02162489191 email: sylin@kali.com.cn
ISN
Forefront on Ischemic Acute Renal Failure • September
20–21, 2002 • Antwerp, Belgium • Prof. M.E. de Broe • fax: 32 3 829 0100 email: debroe@uia.ua.ac.be
Chilean
Society of Nephrology • October
3–5, 2002 • Valparaiso, Chile • Dr. Bernardo Rodriguez-Iturbe
• tel: 58 261 7519 610 fax: 58 261 7524 838 email: bri@iamnet.com
Dialysis
Academy in Heidelberg • October
4–5, 2002 • Heidelberg, Germany • Prof. E. Ritz • tel: 49 6221 91120 fax: 49 6221 162476 email: prof.r.ritz@t-online.de
Indian
Society of Nephrology • November
15–17, 2002 • Jaipur, India • Dr. Devinder Rana • tel: 91 11 575 8660 fax: 91 11 581 2727 email: dsrana@bol.net.in
ISN and Baxter Launch Grant
Program to Support Research in Kidney Disease
The International Society of Nephrology is collaborating with Baxter
Healthcare Corporation on an extramural grant program designed to promote scientific
discoveries in the field of kidney disease. The program, called Renal Discoveries, builds on an existing Baxter grant program that has
distributed more than $25 million to 221 grant winners in 20 countries. Supporting the
study of all aspects of kidney disease from pathophysiology to treatment options, Renal
Discoveries provides much needed resources to enable
researchers and clinical investigators to pursue the broad long-term studies that are
critical to enhancing knowledge of kidney disease and its treatment.
The program’s Round 1 topic is Inflammation
and Kidney Disease and requests for proposals were distributed worldwide in October to
coincide with Renal Week 2001 and the World Congress of Nephrology, held under the joint
auspices of the ISN and the American Society of Nephrology.
“Renal Discoveries offers
a solution for everyone involved,” says Lee W. Hen�derson, M.D., F.A.C.P., who
founded the original Baxter extramural grants program and continues his involvement in the
new scheme. “Industry needs answers and expertise. Academia can often provide these,
but consistently needs funding. Our hope and our goal is that the patient becomes the
ultimate winner, as he or she may benefit from new therapies developed as a result of this
program.”
Renal Discoveries is modeled
after grant programs managed by the United States National Institutes of Health. ISN and
Baxter work together to determine potential research topics, which will be announced twice
each year, along with detailed writing instructions to guide applicants through the
process. An independent medical advisory board will evaluate applications based on
scientific merit. Baxter selects board members from among ISN’s membership. Board
members will periodically rotate to ensure breadth of scientific judgment.
The program offers grant levels of US
$50,000 per year for three years of basic clinical research and US $75,000 per year for
three years of applied clinical research. Those granted an applied clinical research award
are eligible to apply for increased funding up to US $300,000 in years two and three.
Round 2 applications are due around October 11, 2002.
“The ISN strongly encourages
researchers everywhere to participate in the Renal Discoveries grant program,”
says ISN President Bob Atkins. “By applying for a grant, a researcher contributes to
the advancement of knowledge and its clinical applicability, which will lead to more
effective techniques for identifying and treating renal disease globally.”
Request
for Proposals
Application Deadline: October 11, 2002
Inflammation
and kidney disease
“Inflammation and the Kidney” was the topic for Round 1 of
the program. Recent literature indicates that markers of the systemic inflammatory
response are commonly elevated in patients with kidney disease and on maintenance
dialysis. Atherosclerosis, malnutrition and other complications of kidney disease are
associated with elevations in markers of inflammation. These observations have led to the
proposal that a common cause may be found to link the morbidities commonly observed in
patients with kidney disease. Furthermore, a link to the progressive nature of kidney
disease may be part of this association.
Proposals in the following specific
areas of research are being considered:
Basic
Clinical Research:
• What is the etiology of inflammation in both
kidney disease and dialysis patients?
• What are the pathogenetic mech�anism(s)
linking chronic kidney disease and its associated co-morbidities?
• What is the relationship between residual
renal function and inflammation in both predialysis and dialysis patients?
Applied
Clinical Research:
• How do dialysis modality and/or prescription
modulate the systemic inflammatory response? For example:
• Does
the dialysis regimen affect the systemic inflammatory response and its consequences?
• Which
integrated care schemes are optimal for the reduction of the systemic inflammatory
response currently associated with chronic kidney disease?
• What novel therapeutic interventions (e.g.,
biopharmaceuticals, devices or systems) will reduce or ameliorate the systemic
inflammatory response and its consequences in chronic kidney disease and dialysis
patients?
• Which are the best prognostic
markers/mediators for the consequences of systemic inflammation?
More information on Renal
Discoveries and instructions for grant applications can be found at www.baxter.com/egp and www.isn-online.org. isn
Renal Discoveries is a
trademark of Baxter International Inc.
2002 MEDICAL ADVISORY BOARD
Robert C. Atkins,
MBBS, MSc, DSc, FRACP—Clayton,
Victoria, Australia
Tilman B. Dr�eke, MD
—Paris, France
David C.H. Harris, MD,
BS, FRACP—Westmead, NSW, Australia
J. Harold Helderman,
MD, FACP—Nashville, TN, USA
Lee W. Henderson, MD,
FACP—Guilford, CT, USA
Walter H. H�rl, MD,
PhD, FRCP—Vienna, Austria
Saulo Klahr, MD—St.
Louis, MO, USA
William E. Mitch,
MD—Atlanta, GA, USA
Sarah S. Prichard, MD,
FRCP(C)—Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Peter Stenvinkel, MD,
PhD—Stockholm, Sweden